Roosevelt’s Address to Congress after the Attack on Pearl Harbor (USEAAR, #15)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) . However, the text is not fictitious – Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech after the historical Japanese attack. All I changed is the date.

June 8, 1941

Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Yesterday, June 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

Leaflet by the Italian Propaganda Department (USEAAR, #8)

 

These leaflets were dropped over Bavaria by planes of the Italian air force. The Regia Aeronautica dropped similar leaflets over other regions in the German south, mostly over towns and villages predominantly inhabited by Catholics.

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.  

Diary entry of Josephine Lefèvre (USEAAR, #7.2)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Brussels, June 07, 1940

We had a bit more than two weeks. I knew the Nazis would come back, and back with a vengeance they are. The parades have been a more emphatic show of force than ever, the boots are clicked on the ground more forceful than ever, and the delivery of punishment from slaps to executions is faster than ever. We shall not see peace nor freedom as long as the swastika flies over the Grand-Place.

Excerpts from the reports of the French 3rd Army to the Assemblée Nationale (USEAAR, #6)

Written by Pierre Laval, major at the staff of the French 3^rd Army

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Verdun, May 7, 1940

The army has left their defensive positions in the Maginot fortresses under the cover of night. Strict secrecy is the soldier’s first duty. No radio contact whatsoever. So far, we advance on Sedan unopposed.

Notes of the Diplomatic Proceedings in Rome (USEAAR, #4)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Notes of the diplomatic proceedings in Rome, taken by Salvatore Graniti, junior Secretary of Legation in the Italian diplomatic service

September 21, 1939

The Duce has been anxious to see the German delegation. He congratulates them on the great successes of their armies in Belgium and France. The Germans express confidence of further advances and hint at looking for a partner to share responsibilities for Europe. „We are no southern country, but the Mediterranean must have a firm hand and order as well“, says ambassador von Mackensen. The Duce replies that Germany has no better friend than Italy and that the old privileges of Britain and France must be altered to fit our new times.

Letter by Aivars Ozols to his sister Inese Bumbulis (USEAAR, #3)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Riga, January 7, 1940

Dear Inese!
I cannot believe just two weeks ago we were celebrating Christmas – attempting to, at least. Not a single person in Latvia can be in a festive spirit when our country is at war against such an overwhelmingly more powerful foe. Of course, our boys are fighting bravely, what good is bravery if the Soviets have five soldiers for every one of ours – without even calling their troops from other parts of the country? For every offensive of theirs that we stifle, another succeeds, and so the frontline has only been moving in one direction – ever closer to Riga, and of course also to you in Ventspils. I do not mean to frighten you, but I cannot see how we would ever be able to hold out much longer.

War and Peace: Germany and the Kosovo (Century of German History, #3)

Welcome to the third installment in my series Century of German History! Every post in the series sheds light on a focal event of German history in the 20^th century and illustrates this event with precisely one board game. You can find the two previous posts here and here.
The first half of the 20^th century was a storm of blood in Europe, and Germany was right at its center. After the Nazi atrocities, long decades of peace followed in Europe, and Germany – especially the political Left committed herself to a non-violent foreign policy. When ethnical tensions flared up again in Kosovo, a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and new mass carnage loomed to break out in the Balkans, how would the newly constituted center-left government of Germany deal with it? Let’s go back 20 years and find out. Our game will be This War of Mine (Michał Oracz/Jakub Wiśniewski, Awaken Realms).

A Short History of the Total War

On this day 75 years ago, Joseph Goebbels, the Third Reich’s Minister for Propaganda, gave his most famous speech. In the midst of World War II, he was speaking to a select crowd of supporters. At the climax of the speech, Goebbels asked, “Do you want total war?” The question – and the crowd’s frenetic response in the affirmative – were broadcast many times and remain infamous until this day.
But what is a total war? This article will look at the characteristics of a total war, the use of the term from the 18^th to the 20^th century, and Goebbels’ speech about it. Finally, there will be a brief section about board and video games that make use of the term.

The Military Bubble – And How to Find Out of It

Wargaming is one of the traditional sub-sections of boardgaming. It’s not hard to see why. By definition, games need to be interactive (that is, the game state changes according to the actions of the players, in contrast to, say, a puzzle) and provide struggle (that is, non-trivial effort is required to achieve the goals). Conflict between players provides amply for both, and one of the prime kinds of conflict is that of a military nature. Games with a historical theme are no exception, depicting wars from antiquity to our age. However, the popularity of wars and military conflict as a subject for historical games is not without problems. It overshadows other areas of human enterprise (and conflict). In addition, many wargames present a de-contextualized version of war. Therefore, it’s easy to live within a military bubble as a gamer. This article will explore these problems, but also look at the solutions already being implemented to deal with it.